Exposure of medical students to body fluids

Three hundred forty-two students at 3 Florida medical schools were surveyed concerning occupational exposures to blood and body fluids during their 3rd-year clerkship. The 16-item questionnaire was anonymously returned by 150 students, and differences among groups were assessed at p < .05. Most of the students complied with universal precautions guidelines (UVPG); 62 reported 101 exposures, including 9 with HIV-positive blood and body fluids. Most of the exposed students knew about the guidelines but regarded the incidents as irrelevant to their safety or supervision training. Noncompliant students reported significantly more exposures than compliant students. Time constraints, inconvenience of using gloves during procedures, and belief that patients were at low HIV risk discouraged adherence to the guidelines. Common practices following exposure were "no action" or "washed area only" without medical follow-up. Medical students' UVPG adherence should be increased by workload modification, user-friendly safety products, and supervised practice training in clinical exposure settings.